World's Rarest Whale Finally Captured On Film For The First Time

Scientists have captured stunning vision of one of the world's rarest whales off the coast of Madagascar. Until now there had not been a confirmed sighting of an Omura's whale in the wild.

There is still so much we don’t know about our oceans. Here’s one species of whale, rarely seen by the human eye that had gone nearly unknown by scientists. Until now.

Omura’s whales are so rare that scientists are not sure exactly how many exist.

Scientist Salvatore Cerchio led the research at the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is also a researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In a news release he said: "Over the years, there have been a small handful of possible sightings of Omura's whales, but nothing that was confirmed.

"They appear to occur in remote regions and are difficult to find at sea, because they are small – they range in length from approximately 33 to 38 feet – and do not put up a prominent blow.”

The Omura's whale is a species of blue whale, but is much smaller than any of the other species of blue whale. Until now, the only Omura's whales that have been found were dead whales, and those which were initially misidentified as a Bryde's whale – a different species.